Organised mum

Rachel has 5 children by two different fathers (4 with her first partner and 1 son with another). After some difficult break-ups, the young mum decided to bring her children up alone. Her youngest child is a year old.

Impeccable organizationHow does she cope day to day? "I get up early and get everything ready in advance. If I get up at 10, half my day's gone". Rachel gets up at 5am and by the time she leaves the house to go to work, she's made dinner all ready to be reheated as soon as she gets back: "I rarely buy ready meals. I have lots of energy that sees me through and I feel fine".

OvertimeHow does Rachel cope financially? She says simply: "It was my decision to divorce so I have to accept everything that goes with it, including the financial implications". Her two youngest kids are looked after by a nanny who lives just round the corner, and the other children stay at the crèche until 6pm. This allows Rachel, a beauty therapist, to work overtime and earn enough money to provide for her family.